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I used to write a lot. Finished two NaNoWriMos -- but I guess the pressure by my family to publish just made me lose interest altogether. Kind of unfortunate, though I'm convinced I could do a much better job if I were to edit and rewrite those novels, three years later.

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I'm a NaNoWriMo repeat offender, I have about 350-400k words worth of novel drafts in my virtual drawers and two more stories that could possibly be something book-like. Does that count, even though I've never finished one of my drafts?

I really ought to do something about that, but as of now I'm not yet ready to discard 90% and start from scratch, more or less. That's not necessarily bad, since I'm the kind of person who needs to tell themselves the story and experiment with subplots before I know what works and what doesn't, but I'm a lazy student who'd rather come up with a new idea.

I'm doing this more or less for fun and am not aiming to publish one of my books, though. Sure, the idea of being a published author does sound cool and entertaining, but I am very persnickety about what happens in my books and what doesn't, and I'm pretty sure a book contract wouldn't exclude plot changes. And I'd be out the second someone'd force me to include a sappy romance between my main characters (no offense to those who like romance, it's just not my genre and I'm really tired of dystopian/sci-fi books having to have a love triangle or something along those lines. Can't people just care for each other because they're awesome friends?) or tries to make my book something I don't want it to be. And let's be honest, it's not like I'd be in a position to make demands.

But, well. I've started writing stories, silly as some have been, 21 years ago and I guess at this point it's too late to get rid of that habit, so here's to the next 200k...

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I'm a NaNoWriMo repeat offender, I have about 350-400k words worth of novel drafts in my virtual drawers and two more stories that could possibly be something book-like. Does that count, even though I've never finished one of my drafts?

I really ought to do something about that, but as of now I'm not yet ready to discard 90% and start from scratch, more or less. That's not necessarily bad, since I'm the kind of person who needs to tell themselves the story and experiment with subplots before I know what works and what doesn't, but I'm a lazy student who'd rather come up with a new idea.

I'm doing this more or less for fun and am not aiming to publish one of my books, though. Sure, the idea of being a published author does sound cool and entertaining, but I am very persnickety about what happens in my books and what doesn't, and I'm pretty sure a book contract wouldn't exclude plot changes. And I'd be out the second someone'd force me to include a sappy romance between my main characters (no offense to those who like romance, it's just not my genre and I'm really tired of dystopian/sci-fi books having to have a love triangle or something along those lines. Can't people just care for each other because they're awesome friends?) or tries to make my book something I don't want it to be. And let's be honest, it's not like I'd be in a position to make demands.

But, well. I've started writing stories, silly as some have been, 21 years ago and I guess at this point it's too late to get rid of that habit, so here's to the next 200k...

That is super awesome and definitely does count!

I definitely agree with the romance thing. Not every flippin' book needs romance of any kind!

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I thought about making my own book series or online book series because people say that I have a lot of potential to make a good book series but I don't where to start, I can think of over 50 stories with different lore, characters and nations.

I am also afraid that the explanations of the lore will be to much (I like tons of backstory in my books/games/imagination).

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I've been trying to write my own book for a while now, the only problem is, every time I start writing, I lose my plot completely and can't seem to finish which is really annoying. I can't see why this keeps happening seeing as I know my characters and their backstories off by heart, and normally writing comes naturally to me. Does anyone know why this is happening?

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Have you ever tried outlining your plot, as in, writing a brief summary of what you want to happen? I personally find that extremely helpful because I have a condensed version of my story in front of my eyes, and it's easier to spot logical flaws and stuff when I don't have to re-read the whole 60k document. Basically, there's really not one set way how you write a book, and maybe "making everything up as you go with a setting and characters" isn't the right way for you.

Also, it is totally not necessary to write a whole novel from start to finish in its correct order. What helped me most when I started seriously writing again was the realization that you don't have to write scene after scene after scene in the order they appear in the book, and you are totally free to re-arrange stuff later, as well as rewrite things if you realize they don't work.

So, if you don't know what should happen in between, you could always skip ahead to another important point that you already have planned and just write that. Sometimes this helps me, because I'm involved with my novel, but not stressing myself out because that specific scene just doesn't want to be written at this time.

Of course, this is all said presuming that you want to write a draft and revise it later, which I'd highly recommend. It might be a little more work, yes, but I found that it pays off in the end if I don't feel like everything I write is set in stone.

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i think we've all had that dream of seeing your work published and shiny on the shelves, ready to share with the world; it just sounds so exciting!!

that said, i've definitely considered publishing before and i'm not pushing it off the table now. a grad i knew last year just had her book published--it actually came out december 2015!--and i admired her, both for her courage on publishing and for her dedication to the cause, as she'd been writing the series for a couple of years beforehand.

my main concern with publishing is the amount of hatred authors get for their works. call me a little bit fickle, but i find that creating a book and writing it all the way through takes something personal out of you, and i'm just entirely too sensitive to be criticized on a national scale. i suppose it's something to work past, since things never go flawlessly and such is to be expected. i'm not pointing any fingers or defending anyone, but i've seen posts wishing death upon authors like john green and the such.

as much as one may hate someone, it's a bit excessive to wish death, isn't it?

it's just wholly unpleasant to think about--but even so, i suppose it's one of those pros vs cons moments. i really admire authors like nancy yi fan, for publishing so early! that would be the dream.

i agree with the parent debacle-- there are certain things i would like to write about/explore that i'm not entirely sure my family would be supportive of, so if i did manage to finish a book (i keep falling short of nano, oops!) i would wait until i was able to support myself before continuing on.

Digital Decay - thanks for the tips! those are things i often find myself forgetting that what you write can always be edited. i have troubles continuing chapter after chapter as well, so creating a plot chart and stringing together scenes may be better!

Edited January 22, 2016 by Lady_Lunevis

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I started a book a really long time ago that was based around this guy with superpowers. In hindsight, I think the only actually interesting aspect of the book is the way I told the story. It used "found documents." It was fun to do because I got to experiment with a bunch of different ways and styles of writing. (EX: an interview transcript, telling a story with just dialogue, a super uptight person writing in their diary, an automatic transcription of something that happened, etc.) It was an amazing experience. I loved the ability to create a labyrinth of documents and diaries that are all out of order. I loved talking as the narrator and confusing the reader by referencing something that they hadn't learned yet.

The only problem is that it had no plot and I only wrote a couple chapters before losing interest.

Incredibly, that's only one of five-or-so books that I've started but never finished. It's something that I'm really good at. There're all of these great shells of books that need a plot that I can't provide; all I can do is write a couple of pages or maybe even just a single conversation.

Warning: The next paragraph heavily mentions suicide and events involving suicide. Please be aware that this topic is sensitive to many users.

Here's a cool idea:

There's this person; and they really like knots. Like, really really like them. They're also suicidal. The person is asked by their therapist (after trying to hang theirself) to write their story. They end up writing a how-to book about knots that also talks about what's happened to them. Every other chapter would have a diagram on how to tie a knot relating to what just happened in the past chapter. The chapter about killing theirself would have instructions on how to tie a noose.

See! Isn't that a great idea? Wouldn't it be a wonderful story! I know! It would be! This would be a story that I would read again and again. It just needs a plot to go in and around the things I've been able to come up with.

Case and point: Make sure that you have a plot to go along with your concept; otherwise, you might find yourself with a lot of ideas, but no books.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Shiny Hazard Sign

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Have you ever tried outlining your plot, as in, writing a brief summary of what you want to happen? I personally find that extremely helpful because I have a condensed version of my story in front of my eyes, and it's easier to spot logical flaws and stuff when I don't have to re-read the whole 60k document. Basically, there's really not one set way how you write a book, and maybe "making everything up as you go with a setting and characters" isn't the right way for you.

Also, it is totally not necessary to write a whole novel from start to finish in its correct order. What helped me most when I started seriously writing again was the realization that you don't have to write scene after scene after scene in the order they appear in the book, and you are totally free to re-arrange stuff later, as well as rewrite things if you realize they don't work.

So, if you don't know what should happen in between, you could always skip ahead to another important point that you already have planned and just write that. Sometimes this helps me, because I'm involved with my novel, but not stressing myself out because that specific scene just doesn't want to be written at this time.

Of course, this is all said presuming that you want to write a draft and revise it later, which I'd highly recommend. It might be a little more work, yes, but I found that it pays off in the end if I don't feel like everything I write is set in stone.

No, if only because every time I outline and plot something in my head, it never ends up getting written, so I do tend to write and create as I go because it usually works, it's how I've ended up writing most of my fanfics.

Not writing it in order is actually a really good idea, one that I hadn't actually thought of before, so thanks. But how do you connect various scenes together? I mean going from point A to point B is easy enough, but if I write it out of order, there are loads of little bits that I have to connect properly, how would I do that and still have my story make sense?

Sorry for the millions of questions, it's just you seem to have really good tips and you (unlike me) actually know what you're talking about.

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No problem, although I wouldn't say I know what I'm talking about, as I'm no published author either

Anyway: I can't really offer a proven formula for connecting scenes, unfortunately. Since I tend to work with a loose outline, I just skip ahead to a scene that I really DO want to happen, for example, the next big fight or revelation, and deal with the "transition scenes" [character building moments, deep conversations that I don't feel up to right now] later. I'm not sure how one would manage really huge skips if there is no outline, to be honest, but I guess in the end it's not so different from what I do: take a good look at what you already have and imagine what could have happened so that B followed from A.

Maybe you could do, like, a "reverse outline" - instead of making a check list which scenes still would have to be written, you could take notes of what you already have, just so that you keep an overview of what your story is about, and then try to come up with scenes that would fit well in between? Of course there is no guarantee that everything will fit together in the end, but I'd say that knowing what doesn't work is already worth something in it's own right. To be honest, I think that's the one of the few tips that are really important in writing: don't be scared to rewrite and discard stuff that just doesn't fit, especially if you're more the type who makes things up as you go.

And just speaking from my experience, YMMV of course: There will be days where working on a book just simply, plainly sucks. That's pretty normal, actually. I've yet to meet an author, published or not, who didn't want to set their first draft afire every now and then. [And never mind the caffeine-fuelled meltdowns I had during NaNoWriMo last year...]

I've come to terms with the fact that some days I'll just have to substitute inspiration with determination and keep writing anyway, just so that I don't lose touch with my novel and give my subconscious the idea that this project has failed. It's easier to delete stupid paragraphs than make sentences appear out of nowhere when you've lost interest in what you're doing.

I don't know if that's any help to you [these are really just ideas, not the definite writing advice™], but I see a lot of people assuming that writing is always enjoyable and immersive and makes the time fly by as if nothing else matters. Of course there are such days, but being annoyed and wanting to throw the whole thing out of the window aren't signs that your idea sucks and you should stop writing, it's just a part of the process. The important part is, I'd say, to not get discouraged by that.

my main concern with publishing is the amount of hatred authors get for their works. call me a little bit fickle, but i find that creating a book and writing it all the way through takes something personal out of you, and i'm just entirely too sensitive to be criticized on a national scale. i suppose it's something to work past, since things never go flawlessly and such is to be expected. i'm not pointing any fingers or defending anyone, but i've seen posts wishing death upon authors like john green and the such.

as much as one may hate someone, it's a bit excessive to wish death, isn't it?

First off, I am certainly not going to defend people wishing death on anyone. That this is immature, tactless and a sad display of a total lack of character should be clear to everyone who has enough brainpower to breathe.

Then again, how do I put this without being condescending... I think the people who display such behavior are a very specific demographic and can easily be avoided by not frequenting certain websites and communities, which I've never been interested in in the first place, so this is not a huge problem for me. As long as I am not writing non-fiction about sensitive contemporary issues and receive threats from political extremists, or suchlike, I am not going to lose my mind over the opinion of some random people I neither know nor care about. Especially since most of them won't have an idea of what it takes to write a book

For me writing is also a very personal affair, and I'd agree that you make yourself vulnerable in some ways be publishing a book, but I'm way more scared that people would tear my actual work apart than I am about children throwing a tantrum on social media.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Digital Decay

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What is a good writing platform to write on (that was more less complex in my head) and where is a good place to let my story be told (is their a place on this forums I can post my story or something)?

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What is a good writing platform to write on (that was more less complex in my head)

I use yWriter, you cna separate your book into chapters, and different scenes, specifying different viewpoints. You can also make different items for characters, settings, and objects. It's pretty cool and a great way to structure things.

I myself have loads of ideas floating around in my brain (in the vault, so they're pretty secure)

I've done NaNo a bunch of times but have never won or I think even passed the 10k mark because I'm awful and prone to procrastination and being busy everywhere else.

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I used to be a very prolific writer. Work, a death in my family and the fact nobody gave a damn about my books eventually made me loose interest. I'm drafting a story in my head at the moment but it seems like every time I sit down to write I'm incapable of pulling it off. Chapters end up boring and inconsistent. Characters are bland an uninteresting. The plot seemed more exciting in my head. Ugh...

I have nearly 20 years of experience in this so... it's rather annoying.

Especially since most of them won't have an idea of what it takes to write a book

I know my writing is bad. I know that if I had ever published I would feature in a sporking alongside Eragon and other bad books. I know what I'm writing and I do it because quick paced, easily digested adventures like the Dresden Files, with a bit of mystery and a bit of action, is the type of book I enjoy writing about. I'm not expecting people to have a different opinion on the matter just because they don't write.

What I mean to say, you don't have to be a high quality chef to appreciate the quality of a dish.

I have so many ideas, most of which end up as short stories (Some completed for my university course, one of which was read at a showcase, and others still ideas). But my "main work", or even the short stories, I would love to see published one day.

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I love writing. I've participated in NaNoWriMo every year since 2003 except for 2014, although I didn't win every year. I have way too many unfinished novels. Waayy too many.

I'm currently completely rewriting a rather intense storyline in my longest-ever novel, which still does not have a title (I really suck at titles, I usually refer to them by the main character's name). I've written somewhere around 30k in the past two months, completely changing certain situations because they just didn't feel right.

I'm also the type of writer who, especially during NaNo, will mark down notes in the story such as "write more here" or "finish this part later" because I just blank out. I'm trying to go through and fix that throughout this story right now.

As for publishing, I don't think that would ever happen. I have a short story published in an anthology book that was self-published with some of my friends, but other then that... I only let certain people read my stuff. I write more for myself then anyone else, and besides that the things that I write about would be a very very very tiny market if anything at all.

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I've had a piece in mind for a few months and am finally getting into actually writing it. Finished the first chapter last night

I do usually use a small overview... I outline what I want to get done in one chapter and write based on that. Sometimes if I do have an event planned for the future, I will go ahead and write it out and then worry about plugging it in to the story properly

At first I wasn't too interested in this story. But sometimes, I find one little idea that I love so much it makes me want to make it and make it a huge part of the story, and that's the little push over the edge that I need to make the writing happen. And I am currently in love with my story.

literally my favorite quote right now: "Korrine, my blood is made of power-hungry OCD people and tea while yours is made of power-hungry drunkards as well as explosive eagles. I think I have the better end of the bargain here."

Edited February 7, 2016 by Aquenee

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I am currently not writing a book, but making a book. I have the signatures put together, the materials for making the hardback covers, and am currently embroidering a cover for the hardback covers. I'm going to gift it to my pharmacy manager once I am done with it. I've been working on it since November. The embroidery is taking up the longest time, but it doesn't help that I only work on it during my lunch hour at work.

I'm debating on adding some fluff under the cloth cover, to make the book feel more.. authentic? realistic? thick? I can't figure out a word for the feeling I'm trying to make.

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I have written 3 proper good books, 4 older books (more childish) and 4 game-books (most childish). I've translated the first five chapters of my latest one - you can read them here. Beware, it's a dark fantasy Gothic novel. And when I say dark, I mean dark - no silly teen romances etc. It's a depressing book.

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Now this is a thread I can attest to! I love worldbuilding, and I always have to trim down my roleplays, not flesh them out. (Seriously, this is my roleplay stash and that's not even all of it. I don't think I've written one roleplay that only needed one reserved post) With books, I have what... 20+ unfinished books? Two are technically finished? Not counting the fanmade ones? (I had a Minecraft addiction for a while.) One is in its second draft, I know that, and I have a bunch more stories rattling around in my head. While I do love writing though (even though I've barely finished a darn thing) I seem to be more of a worldbuilder; one of my roleplays is practically a wiki, and it isn't even the main universe that I usually work with, which should be a wiki. Actually, I think that's my issue with writing... I go into what my mother calls "analysis paralysis", which is where I put too much focus on creating the world and not the story. I've found though that if I just write and don't think about the world or editing the story - I just let it pour out - I actually get things done. That might work for other people too, I don't know.

One thing that makes me sad though is I can never find books I love anymore. I used to be a huge reader; every other trip to the library, I would find a new series to read into. Back when I was in public school I was often a few levels higher than what the teacher expected of me because I found the "appropriate level books" too short and boring. I still really like reading, but it's like I grew pickier about my content... Too many books had a focus on humans, or had strong romantic undertones, or just wasn't creative enough; one book hugely disappointed me by looking like a Warriors book, but then there was this unnecessarily detailed romantic scene in it that disgusted me to no end. I mean really, authors, you don't have to perform fanservice if you don't want to! Write what you want! Your fans will come to you.

But yes, I am a sad panda for finding new content; I am even less impressed with what Hollywood churns out. SO... if you do end up posting a snippet of your writing, predatorfan4ever, I would love to read it! Because I haven't read much outside of my own stuff for a while...

Edited April 23, 2016 by skwerl56767

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Ugh, I've been trying to write a novel for four years. It's called Dragon Tears, centered around a world named Era piloted by a tyrant king. The main character is really just a thief stealing stuff for an orphanage, but he gets dragged up into it by an old friend.

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This thread is perfect for me! I write so much, especially Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time in Wonderland fan-fictions on my Wattpad account. Not to mention the stuff not viewable in my drafts section or the Hilroys lying around my room.

I'm also working on an original fantasy novel not available on the internet (mostly 'cause I'm paranoid it's going to get stolen). I really want to publish it . It's got all the good stuff: evil overlords, elves, dragons (main theme), quests, and weird fairy-like creatures with a riddle obsession and gladiator fights. It's got a questing plot line.

I totally agree with the romance stuff. I hate when it's so descriptive. It really takes away from the story. I buy a book because I'd like to read about dragons and battles, not 'Oh, look how cute the Rider is!' I find that if I skip the romantic scenes, I've missed over half the book but still understood the entire plot line. It's an apocalypse for sure.

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I've thought of writing my own book, since I have a knack for writing in general. However, I usually find much difficulty in becoming inspired enough to create a fully coherent, structured enough concept for the creation of a book. I have to say I'm quite rusty as well, as I haven't really read as much as I should. Reading helps me become inspired as well as aiding in the honing of my skills as a writer in general, it helps me conceptualize and interiorize the way a storyline works, pacing, character development, and so much more. Reading also provides me with magnificent ideas. I myself have not formally written anything in a long time. Before, I would role-play in order to practice, I think I just might take it up again just to get the hang of writing and the creativity flow going again.